NEWS CONFERENCE HOME ASSET DNA MARKING

Transcription

1 CAMDEN COUNTY POLICE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION NEWS CONFERENCE HOME ASSET DNA MARKING MEDIA PACKET JUNE 16, 2015

2 Chief Earle Statement In 2013 there were 3,229 burglaries reported to police in Camden County. The number of burglaries in Camden County has declined when compared to 2012 where there were 3,983 burglaries. This 18% reduction is the result of so much hard work by all police officers throughout the county including proactive police operations targeting locations where crime is occurring, community policing responses to drug fueled crime, engaging with the community, and many crime prevention actions. Examples of such crime prevention actions include neighborhood watch groups, anonymous tip lines, use of video in solving crime, recommendations to install home and business security alarm systems, marking property with identifiers such as a driver s license number, and much more. I believe all of these actions have so greatly helped all law enforcement in Camden County in battling crime. As we continue to partner with the community, it is imperative that we constantly learn of the most progressive methods in deterring and solving crime. The Home Asset DNA Marking program is simply one of the newest methods in deterring crime. The marking of valuables with plant based DNA is the modern version of engraving treasured items with the owner s initials or other identifiers. However, the Home Asset DNA marking program enables law enforcement to remove a sample of DNA on recovered property and determine its owner generally in less than 48 hours. Residents in Camden County may purchase a bottle of plant based DNA from Applied DNA Sciences. Homeowners then simply apply a small amount of liquid plant DNA to various valuables. If these valuables are lost or stolen and come into the hands of law enforcement, the law enforcement agency removes the sample and sends it to the Applied Sciences DNA laboratory for identification at no cost to the law enforcement agency or the property owner. When homeowners purchase a bottle of DNA they are encouraged to clearly post the supplied signs and decals at their home as a warning to would be intruders that valuables have been marked with DNA. The deterrent value of the DNA markings and window placards is clear. Intruders must understand that police departments in Camden County are promoting the use of plant based DNA to mark valuables in communities and officers are being trained today to recover DNA from items they believe may be stolen. I offer just one example of how helpful it would have been to have an item marked with plant DNA. On Sunday May 17, 2015 a Gloucester Township Police Officer observed a suspicious vehicle parked in a parking lot of a retail store. The officer found a person passed out inside of the vehicle and upon further investigation the officers found the male in possession of drug paraphernalia and a hypodermic needle. The officers also discovered various jewelry items in a cigarette box. The defendant was unable to provide any explanation as to where the jewelry came from. Although this subject was charged for the drug paraphernalia, he was not charged for burglary, theft, or receiving stolen property because the owner of the property has not been identified. If these items were marked with owner specific plant based DNA, officers would simply obtain a sample, send the sample to the DNA lab, and learn the identity of the owner. This identification would not only enable officers to return the property to the owner, but also likely result in criminal charges for the suspect.

3 Throughout this summer law enforcement agencies across Camden County will be speaking with residents and informing them of this new initiative. The plant based DNA is available from Applied DNA Sciences and not your local police department. Applied DNA sciences website is located on the handouts and in your press packet. We encourage residents to check their local police department s website for information about the DNA Home Asset Marking Program although it may take some time for police agencies to add this important information to their websites. They may of course contact their local police agency to learn more about this program or to answer any questions they may have. Police agencies in Camden County will continue their crime fighting efforts involving community engagement, neighborhood watch, information sharing, police operations, recommendations of alarms and video systems; however, as science and technology change we must change and educate the residents we serve in the newest ways that they can help protect their valuables while working together to deter crime. Mike Nizich Good afternoon and thank you to Chief Earle, Chief Winters and the Camden County Chiefs of Police for setting up this press conference to discuss the implementation of the DNA Home Asset Marking program in Camden County, NJ. Applied DNA Sciences is a biotechnology company located in Stony Brook, Long Island in the heart of the DNA corridor between Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories and Brookhaven National Laboratories. Our patented Signature DNA technologies consist of DNA harvested from common house plants that is then re-engineered to create an innumerable quantity of unique sequences. These sequences can then be assigned to individual homes, businesses, and organizations. Because of the complex nature of DNA, these sequences are naturally encrypted and highly secure. By embedding these signatures into biologically engineered liquid carriers we currently protect computer chips for the Department of Defense, we assure that the Pima cotton extracted from farms in California is the same Pima cotton that you pay for in the stores, we secure countless cash and valuables in transit in Europe, we protect thousands of homes and vehicles, and we have helped to convict over 90 criminals by forensically tying them to their crimes through our Signature DNA technologies. Much of our asset marking experience and success has been overseas in Europe but now we have made our DNA Asset Marking technology available in the US. We have already helped the Town of Huntington NY, the Suffolk County Police Department on Long Island, and several police departments here in New Jersey begin to implement the program.

4 Under the home asset marking program proposed for Camden County, NJ, homeowners can purchase an affordable DNA Home Asset Marking kit that marks about 100 of their personal valuables. The kit s unique signature becomes their own and if any of their items are ever lost or stolen, the items can now, for the first time, be identified forensically by law enforcement and returned to their rightful owners. As part of the program law enforcement agencies are here today to receive training on asset marking, mark identification, and mark authentication to assure that assets can be identified and returned within each of the participating municipalities. In summary, the DNA Home Asset Marking program acts initially as a deterrent to crime, then as a tool for law enforcement to identify and return property to its owners, and third as a method to forensically link criminals to their crime locations. I thank you for your time and I d be happy to answer any questions that you may have about our technologies or about the DNA Home Asset Marking program. Camden County Police Chiefs Association Contact Information: Chief Harry Earle, President Chief Gloucester Township Police Department Chief Chris Winters, 1 st Vice President Chief Pine Hill Police Department Applied DNA Sciences Contact Information: Mike Nizich Director, Security Asset Sales Applied DNA Sciences 50 Health Sciences Drive Stony Brook, NY USA Tel: Mobile: Fax: michael.nizich@adnas.com Website:

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